Mastic, also known as gum mastic or mastic gum, is a tree resin obtained as an exudate from Pistacia lentiscus L., a member of the family Anacardiaceae. Mastic was used in the ancient Mediterranean world for treating various conditions, such as, gastrointestinal disorders such as gastralgia, dyspepsia and peptic ulcer. Oral administration of mastic to human patients with duodenal ulcer and to experimental rats with induced gastric and duodenal ulcers has been disclosed to have therapeutic effects (Al-Habbal et al (1984) Clin Exp Pharmacop Physio 11(5):541-4; Said et al (1986) J Ethnopharmacol 15(3):271-8).
U.S. Patent Application Publication No 2005/0238740 is directed to Use of mastic and its components for the control of microbial infections.
EP Patent Application No. 1520585 discloses use of a product obtained from a plant of the genus Pistacia for the manufacture of a medicament for treating or preventing cancer.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2005/112967 discloses the purification from mastic of anti-cancer material having anti-proliferative effects, which is found in a soluble fraction obtained by suspending mastic in a solvent selected from a non-acidic, aliphatic hydrocarbon, an aqueous solution containing at least 25% of a water-soluble, non-acidic, aliphatic hydrocarbon, or a combination thereof, and removing the insoluble fraction.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2010/100650 to some of the inventors of the present invention, is directed to therapeutic uses of mastic gum fractions.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2010/100651 to some of the inventors of the present invention, is directed to compositions of polymeric myrcene.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/032523 to some of the inventors of the present invention, is directed to compositions comprising acidic extracts of mastic gum.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2005/094837 is directed to Use of masticadienonic acid as inhibitor of DNA polymerase-beta, used for treating cancers, tumors and neurodegenerative diseases.
Marner et al (1991) disclose identification of various triterpenoids from gum mastic of P. lentiscus (Marner et al (1991) Phytochemistry, 30, 3709-3712).
Giner-Larza et al (2002) disclose anti-inflammatory triterpenes from pistacia terebinthus galls (Planta Med (2002), 68, 311-315).
The optic nerve contains axons of nerve cells that emerge from the retina, leave the eye at the optic disc, and go to the visual cortex where input from the eye is processed into vision. Optic neuropathy refers to damage to the optic nerve due to any cause. Damage and death of these nerve cells, leads to characteristic features of optic neuropathy. The main symptom is loss of vision, with colors appearing subtly washed out in the affected eye. On medical examination, the optic nerve head can be visualized by an ophthalmoscope. A pale disc is characteristic of long-standing optic neuropathy. In many cases, only one eye is affected and patients may not be aware of the loss of color vision until the doctor asks them to cover the healthy eye.
Optic neuropathy can result from various reasons, such as, Ischemic optic neuropathy, Optic neuritis, Compressive optic neuropathy, Infiltrative optic neuropathy, Traumatic optic neuropathy, mitochondrial optic neuropathy, Nutritional optic neuropathies, toxic optic neuropathies, hereditary optic neuropathies, and the like. Very few treatments of optical neuropathy are currently used, and most have a limited effect on specific type of optic neuropathy.
Thus, there is a need in the art for compositions that are useful and effective in treating conditions of optical neuropathy, resulting from various reasons. The art does not provide any teaching that isolated acidic fractions of mastic gum can be used for treating optical neuropathy conditions.